On June 5, 2025, the Ni&Co Forum of Indonesia Critical Minerals Conference & Expo 2025 successfully wrapped up in Jakarta, Indonesia! The conference was organized by SMM, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, and co-organized by the Indonesia Nickel Miners Association (APNI), the Jakarta Futures Exchange, and Sxcoal.

End-of-life lithium batteries, especially end-of-life lithium power batteries, are transforming from an "environmental burden" into strategic resources. With the accelerated development of the global new energy industry, this "urban gold mine" of end-of-life lithium batteries is triggering fierce competition among countries in terms of recycling networks, technical standards, and resource recycling. However, CCTV News recently reported, "Currently, there is a widespread dilemma in China's power battery recycling industry: compliant enterprises find it difficult to make profits despite adhering to regulations, while non-compliant small workshops enjoy low costs and high returns.

According to news released by "Yangzhou Industry and Information Technology Bureau," from January to May this year, among the major manufacturing projects with an investment of over 1 billion yuan reserved in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, 15 projects have commenced construction. Among them, the equipment for the high-performance lithium-sodium battery project of Jiangsu Xiongmai New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Xiongmai New Energy), located in Zone C of the Low-Carbon Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park in Baoying Economic Development Zone, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, has been delivered and installed, and it is expected that all commissioning work will be completed by the end of June.

SMM Cobalt Morning Meeting Summary: On Monday this week, influenced by the three-month extension of the export ban in the DRC, both the futures and spot prices of refined cobalt on the Zhonglianjin futures market saw significant increases. On the supply side, refined cobalt smelters continued to supply under long-term contracts, with fewer spot order quotations. Traders mainly adopted a wait-and-see attitude, and a small number of quoting enterprises refused to budge on prices. On the demand side, influenced by policies, inquiries from traders and downstream end-users increased today. However, downstream buyers remained cautious in their purchases, resulting in few actual transactions in the market. Overall, today marked the first trading day after the ban was announced, with most enterprises still in a wait-and-see mode, awaiting clarity on market trends.

[SMM Cobalt & Lithium Morning Meeting Summary: This week, the price of electrolyte remained stable. Cost side, the price of LiPF6, a core raw material for electrolyte, declined slightly, while the prices of solvents and additives remained stable, resulting in no significant fluctuations in the overall manufacturing cost of electrolyte in the near term. The cost side maintained a relatively stable pattern. Demand side, the NEV market was dominated by seasonal factors. June is traditionally an off-season for NEV sales, and auto sales showed mediocre performance, leading to a slight MoM decline in the demand for power batteries.

With the rapid development of the global new energy vehicle (NEV) and energy storage sectors, cobalt's strategic importance as a key battery raw material has become increasingly prominent. Recently, Electra Battery Materials, the operator of North America’s only large-scale battery-grade cobalt refinery, has launched preliminary engineering work at its facility in Canada. This marks a significant step toward the localization of the North American cobalt supply chain. This development not only reflects a profound geopolitical restructuring of global supply chains but may also have potential implications for China's dominant position in the global cobalt market and its pricing dynamics.

Cobalt is a critical metal resource that is widely used in various high-tech fields due to its unique physical and chemical properties. As global demand for high-performance materials continues to grow, the strategic importance of cobalt is becoming increasingly prominent. Gaining a deep understanding of cobalt mining, refining, and downstream application value chain helps to grasp its development trends in modern industry and emerging technologies, while also promoting the rational utilization of resources and sustainable development.

[Company] Growth of 248%! Chengdu Company, a subsidiary of Tianqi Lithium, increases capital to RMB 8.7 billion [Update] Total investment of RMB 2.1 billion! A project with an annual output of 15,000 mt of lithium carbonate lands in Ganzhou, Jiangxi [Highlight] XTC New Energy Materials (Xiamen): Sales of new energy material products reach approximately 47,600 mt in the first five months [Company] Yahua Group will establish Yahua Lithium Group to integrate lithium businesses and achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement [Highlight] CATL and Tianqi Lithium establish a joint venture with a registered capital of RMB 500 million [Investment] RMB 1 billion! 3,000 mt! Dazhong Mining plans to invest in and build a new material project for lithium metal batteries in Hunan

CATL (SHE: 300750) saw its market share in China's electric vehicle (EV) battery market rise compared to the previous month, while BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) saw a decline.